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If
anyone is wondering where the author of this blog went, well, you’re not alone.
I’m wondering about that same thing myself. LOL.

I just
want to drop by to let you know that I may (again)
not be that active around this corner
for this year.I will keep this blog up,
though, and will keep posting every now and then, but I wouldn’t be able to
keep a certain schedule as I have a lot of other things I need to focus on for
this year. That said, I will still post all those blog posts (hotel reviews)
that I have already written when we went to the US in October last year and I
will still be posting some product reviews here whenever I have some extra
time. I really suck at time management, so constantly keeping up with contents
for my YouTubechannels and for this blog is slowly becoming a little bit
stressful, and I seriously don’t want this alley to be a stressful lane.

Right
now, I need to low-key go back to my Archi-roots ‘coz I’d be working on one
interior design for our condo unit in the Philippines and two residential designs for my sister’s
house and my parents’. I need to set my priorities straight to be able to do
these stuff and with this, there’ll be some things I like (love) that I may
need to give up... for now.

Also!
I have plans of going back to work this year but I’m still praying hard about
it and seeking God’s super-awesome guidance.

SO
YEAH! That’s it for my “life update”. For the followers of this blog, I hope
you stick around ‘coz I’m not really leaving. This is just a heads-up in case I
suddenly not post anything for weeks.

For
now, allow me to share with you all the videos I published on my YouTube
channel for the month of January because I gotta admit that’s basically where
I’ve been spending more of my time this month but even that may change as well
in the coming months, so...we’ll see!

We’re
already more than halfway through January and I still haven’t posted this
important entry. I say it’s important because this entry is kind of my way of
looking back at God’s greatness in my life and my way of thanking Him for what
a wonderful year 2017 has been. So I’m sharing with you all, my 2017 recap
instead of my usual monthly rundown post.

JANUARY

If
you’ve read my 2016 recap, you’d know that at the end of December 2016, my
hubby’s youngest sister working in Japan visited us here in Singapore and we
all flew back to the Philippines on New Year’s eve. So January 2017 was our
first time to celebrate New Year in the Philippines since we moved to Singapore
in 2010 for work.

It
was also in this month that we (hubby, his sister, my sister and myself) spent
3D2N at Montigo Resorts and it’s so awesome! I have a review of the said resort
here on my blog if you wanna know my thoughts about the place and how our
experience went.

FEBRUARY

My
mom turned 60 and it’s my sister’s first birthday celebration here in
Singapore. Thank God for another year added to their lives! Although we’re
unable to come home to the Philippines for our mom’s birthday, we got to see
how her party went thru a video call. Thanks to the internet!

MARCH

It’s
the month we finally moved into a 3-bedroom condo unit. What was once just a
dream for me has finally become a reality.

APRIL

After
about a week or two of unpacking and organizing around the house, we’re able to
finally settle in. The feeling of finally being able to move around the house
freely and no reservations because we have it all to ourselves was really
fun.

We
had our housewarming party exactly a month after our move and it’s also in this
month that my sister brought her husband and daughter here in Singapore for the
first time for a 1-month vacation. That was sooo fun!

MY LOVELY GODDAUGHTER-NIECE :)

I
also posted the first two videos I filmed at the new place on my YouTube
channel: a random haul and an everyday makeup routine.

MAY

Although
I didn’t have a lot of things going on in May, it was in this month that I got
a few emails from different brands for some video/blog collaboration. While
working with these brands for videos that were likely to go up on my channel
for the next two months, I also filmed and uploaded a few videos of my own. And
in this same month, the monthly rundown post on my blog has been born.

JUNE

My
hubby and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary with some friends
over dinner at our flat. It was both a fun and chill night.

Aside
from June as our wedding month, it also became more memorable last year because
another dream of mine came true in this month. My parents finally got to visit
us in Singapore after years and years of convincing them.

God really has His
own perfect time for everything and I cannot agree enough that last year was
it! It’s a super fun, although tiring, 10 days of family bonding. It still
makes me very happy every time I look back at it ‘coz it reminds me to never
stop trusting God because His plans are flawless and His time is perfect. It didn’t
occur to me that the dream I gave up on thinking of ever seeing the light of
day would still come to life after so many years but it did. I should never
stop trusting God even at times when I couldn’t even make sense of what’s going
on. I just need to have faith in Him and trust that His love for me never
fails.

JULY

Hubby
brought me to The Canopi because it’s my birthday! It’s such a magical place
and it brings me joy reminiscing the time we spent there even though it was so
short haha.

We
also celebrated my niece/goddaugther’s 2nd birthday at LegoLand in
Malaysia which reminds me I haven’t edited the videos I took on that day. What
a shame, becca!

AUGUST

My
hubby’s aunt with her hubby and daughter visited us here in Singapore from
Spain for a short vacay and after touring a little bit in Singapore, we brought
them to Nirwana Resort Hotel and Indra Maya Pool Villa in Nirwana Gardens for
some fun and relaxation.

It’s
also in this month that my hubby and I decided to go back to a Fertility doctor
to really focus on what we’ve been praying for in a long time. It’s the month
we pushed aside whatever fears or pride that we have and finally dived into
knowing what’s the real deal about our situation.

SEPTEMBER

Our
journey to fertility continued…

It’s
in this month that I started taking the prescribed pills to me and I also
learned that patience is the key ingredient for this whole fertility recipe
because nothing is instant. I also started reading more about PCOS because at that point I
was pretty sure it’s my case even without the doctor telling me yet. So the
journey to my lifestyle change also started in this month.

My sister and I also got to join a lifegroup session for the first time at Every Nation and it
was wonderful.

I
also finally received the right light my sister bought for me as a birthday
gift, which only came late due to international shipping.

And
how can I forget that I’ve been granted a 10-year multiple entry US Visa? These
were all God’s miracles and I can’t thank Him enough for all these amazing
blessings!

OCTOBER

God
is just so amazing that He gave us something we didn’t know we wanted so badly.
We got to travel to the US!!! My hubby went there for work while I was just a
very blessed companion haha.

just landed at San Francisco International Airport

I vlogged the whole trip, by the way. I’m sorry,
though, that it’s in my mother language but feel free to watch it to feel how
happy we were and still are up to this day whenever we remember this trip.

October
is also my hubby’s birth month so I made him a little something.

NOVEMBER

Just
two days after we arrived in Singapore, we boarded the plane again to come home
to the Philippines for my hubby’s mom’s 60th birthday and once-in-a-blue-moon reunion with all his siblings.

We
got to experience a bunch of fun activities while we’re in the Philippines. We
went trekking to witness the beauty of the real
Taal Volcano and became like kids again at Club Balai’s floating playground,
the Aqua Park.

We
went back to Singapore after that 1-week vacay in the Philippines and a few
weeks after, I was back at the hospital for my blood test (still related to our
fertility journey). On our next doctor’s appointment, as expected, the doctor
confirmed I had PCOS. Yes, had. :)

DECEMBER

I
just want to mention that after our first visit to the fertility doctor in
August, I made a conscious effort to lose weight for my health and of course
for my desire to have a baby. By the start of December, I’ve already lost 4
kilos, which actually has been a challenging thing for me to achieve since my
metabolism had tremendously slowed down as I aged, but I’m glad that though it
was a slow progress for me, it seems to be a stable one so I’m okay with it.

For
this month also, I made a decision to upload as many videos as I can to my
Beauty & Lifestyle channel. It was a struggle, yes, but it was a passion
project that made me really happy after finally completing it. I made a clear
plan to upload a video every weekday of December and I succeeded! Here are all
the videos I have successfully posted on my YouTube channel!

On
Dec 23rd, I made another visit to the hospital for another blood
test and was scheduled to see the doctor on January 9th…

-END OF 2017-

On
January 8th-12th of this year, I participated at our church’s (Every Nation
Church Singapore) prayer, fasting & consecration week and I’ve learned to
love God more. The what-seemed-to-be a week of torture because of not consuming
food to energize my body became a week of blessing and strength for my soul and
spirit.

On
January 9th, the second day of fasting, hubby and I went to the hospital
to see the doctor and one of my prayers has been answered. The result of my
blood test was good and was advised to try on our own this month (January)
without the help of the pills she usually gives me. Although there were also
other things we discussed, that “good news” about the result of my blood test
was enough for me to hold on to God’s promises.

One
thing is absolute: God’s love. If I were only allowed to bring with me one
thing I learned from 2017 to this year, it’s to give thanks to God in EVERY circumstance. Yep! What a very
commonly used statement but this is not a cliché. This is the truth. Everything
that happened in my life last year, good or bad is worth thanking God for
because every circumstance I had or still have is an ingredient vital to cook
the right recipe of the character God wants to develop in me.

In
2017, I learned the value of waiting and the power of the right attitude while
waiting. The good news is waiting in God
will never go in vain. It may take years for some prayers to be answered
but sometimes, what we don’t realize is that the answers are actually not
delayed. It’s just that our characters are not yet ready for the answers we
prayed for, and that’s normally why the waiting game continues.

I’m
still in the waiting game for some of the answers to my prayers but what I will
make sure I’d do differently this year, is to appreciate every moment spent in
waiting for there is definitely always something new that God is teaching me
every step of the way. I just need to pay more attention to Him and His will
than my needs and wants because He already knows them all before I can even
think of them.

May
we all receive clarity and direction from God and may 2018 be the year that our
prayers get answered and we, too, become answers to others’ prayers.

Today is "the" day my hubby and I have been
praying and preparing for in the past weeks. I can still remember how we went
crazy shopping for fall clothing the
past weeks as we're both very weak when it comes to the cold weather. I've also
been busy the past couple of days packing all our stuff. And today... this is
it!

And today... this is
it!

I woke up at 5:15ish because of my alarm. I didn't get up
right away though. It took me a few more minutes before I finally got the
strength to get up. 'Went straight to the bathroom. We finished prepping before
7am and when my 7am went off, we're already in the middle of our prayer.

My hubby booked Uber to bring us to Changi Airport Terminal
3. Before our uber arrived, I was able to eat half a bread, enough to fill my
stomach before taking a mefenamic tablet for my cramps. Our uber came and the
ride to the airport was quick and comfy despite the slight traffic, thank God.
We're flying to San Francisco via Singapore Airlines and since my hubby is on
business class (thanks to his company: Visa Worldwide), he thoughtfully decided
to accompany me first while I check in at economy class counter. When he
approached the staff at economy counter to confirm if he can see me through the
check-in process first before he went thru with his, she informed us that my
hubby can actually bring me with him at the business class counter. Wow! We're
not expecting that at all. And so to business class counter we happily went.
Check-in was a breeze. It's amazing actually.

Hubby waiting with me at the "normal" lounge ^_^

Hubby was invited to the business lounge but since I wasn't,
he didn't go. He went with me to the "normal" lounge instead (LOL).

It was during boarding that it started to sink in: we're not
gonna be seatmates on this flight. On my longest and first ever flight to the US,
I won't be seated next to my favorite person in the world, my bestfriend, my
lover, my forever partner. But once I was seated, I slowly felt comfortable. I
just told myself that he's on the same plane and having a wonderful time in his
business class seat. I suddenly felt happy and excited. I was already looking
forward to his stories about his seat and his experience flying on business class.

I had no seatmates on this flight :)

As always, flying with Singapore Airlines was a lovely
experience. Just a few minutes after being seated, the FAs were already handing
out hot towels. My request for headphones was immediately addressed as well. A
few minutes after the smooth takeoff, the FAs were already servicing us with
drinks and nuts. Very nice! I wasn't expecting that because all I know was that
lunch would be served but I didn't know of any in between servings of
food/snacks. I really appreciate that.

Here's the first full meal with ice cream for dessert! :)

And because we're leaving Singapore at daytime, I wasn't
sleepy at all. Despite my lack of proper sleep the night before, I found it
hard to sleep. Well, I always have trouble sleeping so nothing's new. Good
thing, their built-in TV was loaded with lots of awesome shows to watch. So I
started watching movies the moment the plane was on steady mode (sorry for my
terminologies hehe).

Yes there are Filipino movies! Not that many though but still awesome!

Midway to the 2nd movie I was watching, my hubby decided to
drop me a surprise visit. Gosh! I miss him so much already. I was so excited to
see him. It's nice that he can visit me at the economy class cabin but it would
have been so much better if it were the other way around. Don't you think so? (grin)

After watching 2 movies, I felt my energy was starting to
drop so I positioned and prepped myself for sleeping. It was 2:37pm SGT on my
phone. At 3:32pm SGT, 7 hours and 35minutes away from our destination, my eyes
were wide-awake again. Sleeping is really not one of my fortes. At this point,
I really miss my hubby. If I could just hold his hand and gaze at his face, I
know I'd feel 100 thousand times better, but the thought of him being able to
lie down nicely and have a good sleep in his seat instantly gave me comfort. I
just wish there's a way for us to chat (for free) while on the plane. That would
be totally cool!

At 5:08pm SGT, another meal was served. Another thing I was
not expecting because I thought I'd only get one meal in this trip.

I was on the 3rd day of my period and I started having mild
cramps. Good thing they served a full meal so I was able to take another 500mg
mefenamic capsule for my cramps before it worsened. It was also very easy to
move inside their restrooms (unlike other planes I have boarded in the past) so
having my period on this flight didn’t stress me out that much as going to the
restroom was hassle-free with SQ.

At 10:10pm SGT, just one hour and 16min away from San Francisco,
I was still awake. But! I was starting to get sleepy at this point. So I
thought of the best possible position that would help me sleep but still no
luck.

Around 10:20pm SGT, the FAs made their rounds again and this
time they were giving out sandwiches. I straightened up and decided to just
eat. I chose the ham and cheese croissant and Wow! It was delish! Man! I was
well-fed in this flight.

We landed safely and smoothly at San Francisco International
Airport at 8-ish in the morning (San Francisco time), earlier than what was
written on our flight itinerary. Good job SQ pilots!

After going through the immigration, we happily went to the
baggage claim area to collect all our luggage and we're very satisfied to see
that our stuff were all okay except for the one TSA padlock that got ruined
probably because of the conveyor but we're sure it was not tampered or anything
like that.

Although this was not my first time flying economy class
with SQ, this was my longest flight to-date with them and my overall experience
was unquestionably delightful! The whole journey was very smooth and the
customer service was topnotch. Just based on this flight alone, there's really
nothing I can complain about. I'm already excited to see/hear what my husband
has to say about his experience flying business class with SQ for the first
time!

Yes Christmas is never about the material things we receive but I'm sharing with you this post to celebrate the givers of these presents that I got on Christmas day. I honestly love all of 'em but most importantly, I love the very reason why we find it in our hearts to share our blessings especially during Christmas.

I thank God for the gift of
love and life. I thank God for Jesus Christ. :)

And I thank you 'te Mina and 'te Kareen, Bunso and my hubby for these lovely presents.